SNM Horror Magazine

Hats off to Story of the Month, very creepy, fun and well paced. Also the story below that "Sophisticated Fear" was a real gem bringing a story tellers story come to life.

Lots of new faces this month. I do like that SNM features new upcoming authors and re-features them in later issues. Sorry to hear there's no more interviews, it helped to get to know the newbies better but it won't stop me from coming back because the stories are always great. Some issue are even better than some best-of anthologies. Keep up the good work.

Hey, finally got around to checking out about half the issue and want to say: I got nautious jitters reading No Word For it in picturing swallowing bugs. Onto Expressions of Grandeur which was well executed and had a great ending. The Crawlspace was well written but I saw the end coming. 2nd place story Queen of the Hive was very different with very interesting characters and SOTM was very engaging and easy to read in the present tense. That's all I got to so far, but plan on reading the rest and the dark poetry by the end of the weekend. I havent missed an issue yet since the beginning, but my computer did crash middle of February and I didnt finish the last 3 in February. How do I access the archives?

SNM Fan For Life,

Sorcha Butler

It's great to see my story, "The Crawlspace" on SNM. Thanks to everyone at SNM.

My website is actually www.curtjeffreys.com.

Yes, Fabiani debuted right here at SNM and has grown as a writer. His story by itself would have placed higher but it didn't follow the theme as closely as the others with a Femme Fatale as the main character and  dark erotica prevalent in the theme. This was the unanimous decision of 5 editors, some of which are writers for the mag and were guest editors. Liz Strange, one of the guest editors, actually placed this story in first.

Mark Lopito left a comment that I accidentally deleted with all this damn spam that we've been getting that I try to delete as quickly aspossible. It went something like: "I can't wait for the guy who wrote "Downtown Blues" to come out with a novel. His words come to life on the page and I'm very surprised this didn't place higher. Thank you Dan Fabiani. I can't wait to see your book in the stores. Keep up the great work!

Mark Lopito

Readers: Feel free to leave any comments about the featured poems right here in the guestbook. If I see any more spam I shall abolish it ot once!

The Overlord has spoken!

Darkest,

SNM

Thanks for the comments. I love feedback. Again, many humbling thank you's!

-Dan

Good stories, I enjoyed reading them.  I liked Clarissa by A J Brown, because it's good to see some classic monsters come back.   Yet very cool that she didn't kill the victim, as the classic Black Widdow.

Only skin deep, by Trevor Donaldson was another good She-monster story.  What is it about beautiful women that terrifies us men folke? 

Dreams for insomniacs, by Sierra Brown, was a nice mentally unbalanced story.  I liked that she found some kind of balance  and resolve when taken by the police.  A good insight to psychopath's mind.

Aw hell, I enjoyed reading them all, but these were ones I liked the best.  Plus, I would be a critical dick, if I didn't pick favourites.

I have read all the works and I have to comment on the standouts.  The SOTM was good, but where was the female character? Was I reading wrong?

Second place was very interesting.

4th place was, well, the best read. How it didn't win is beyond me.

The rest were considerably well written. I liked this issue better than the January issue, it was more engaging and had a great theme for February, just in time for valentines day.

Thanks,

Jess

DOWNTOWN BLUES WAS AMAZING!!!!!  

Best story in this issue. Amazingly graphic and written like a true pro. Daniel is the next PzB or Ramsey Campbell.  I am still in awe at the writing style, so unique. I read each story here and none drew me in like DOWNTOWN BLUES.

Congratulations to SNM for winning the Bronze (3rd place) for best online magazine and to Bonded by Blood: A Romance in Red for placing 7th in the Preditors and Editors polls. Very respectable especially BBBII considering it had only just been released prior to the opening of voting. Well done editors and authors!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my story "Devil in Cowboy Pajama's". I really appreciate it.

Brett, love your t-shirt idea!! Thanks!

Sorry to see you go, Lilith . I love reading your interviews. The interview section was such a unique and enjoyable feature to the zine. Hopefully it won't disappear forever. Best of luck to you and your future endeavors.

Thanks for the brilliant interviews, Lilith!

Great Issue all. SNM really gathered some great stories.

-Stephen

Lillith, I want to thank you for the interviews.  You have done a great job and you will be missed by all of us.  Take good care of yourself and keep in touch...

AJ

bobc says...

Hi, I can't believe spinetinglers.co.uk didnt make your online top 10 zines; it's a huge site, verrrrrry busy and great for budding authors to get their first paid fiction sale (the moneys really good, too)

Thanks Bob, always good to know and make the horror community aware. Just for the record, it wasn't our top 10, it was done by Macabre Cadaver on the top 10 best free online horror sites. Usually I delete spam or others trying to get their website on our guestbook, but this is relevent and helpful; to the horror community. Thanks for sharing.

Darkest,

SNM

Hi, I can't believe spinetinglers.co.uk didnt make your online top 10 zines; it's a huge site, verrrrrry busy and great for budding authors to get their first paid fiction sale (the moneys really good, too)

I just wanted to say, Suzie...Wow. You definitely deserved SOTM with that one.

To quote Hunter S. Thompson - That was "One King Hell Bastard" of a story. You nailed it to the wall, took a step back, and decided to nail it again for good measure.

I read that damned thing at four in the morning (before coffee) and was absolutely enthrauled.

Someone should make t-shirts that say "Kill Luke."

Just in case.

Suzi Bradshaw's "The Devil in Cowboy Pajamas" drew me into a new reality that I felt could actually exist in this day and age and that scared the hell out of me.

The protagonist was well defined; you could find someone with this personality easily in today's world and the writer carried the reader deep into his emotional turmoil. The way that the other "older" characters projected their simplicity of Luke and how their expectations of this little boy was blinded simply due to his age and appearance -is like the saying "Boys with be boys" - made the reality even grind deeper into your soul - making the reader believe that this could actually happen. Perfection. Then within minor insertions where the cat and the other children could see Luke in his true form or at least instinctively know that harm was near, made the reader confirm within their subconscious that Herb too could see or sense things as they truly were- which in turn increased the suspense.

The imagery, descriptions, and transitions were provided in the correct proportions throughout the story to enable the reader through the use of their imagination to create a world within their mind that would be true for the entire story. Personally, I was able to see clearly their home, the neighborhood, the porch where they had drinks and sandwiches and to the fullest extent that when my mind created the basement with the bodies - I started to cry. When the writer presented the image where at the top of the basement stairs stood the devil in cowboy pajamas - my heart dropped - I saw him - he was actually there. Excellent.

The most intriguing aspect of the story was the challenge between the protagonist and the antagonist to the very end. You wanted Herb to beat that little boy to death (God forgive us), this left the reader wanting more. Again perfect. But when the reader is faced with the comprehension that the little boy is now with Margaret - the grandma figure - and how Herb can not protect her - the reader is devastated - unable to accept the fact that the little boy - the devil in cowboy pajamas - has won, but only for this round. Just you wait "Devil in Cowboy Pajamas" - we know that our hero will beat your butt. "ENCORE!"

"The Devil in Cowboy Pajamas" by Suzie Bradshaw - Wow, that was seriously intense! Also, telling the story through the eyes of an old man that lives next door is right on. I think you really developed a great three-dimensional character with him. I have to say, two scenes really creeped me out - the storm and then, of course, the end. Well done, my friend! And congratulations, again... very well deserved!!

III

I found James Cheetham's story vey well written and easy to getinto. It's been so cold here in Georgia lately that I can complely feelthe c-c-c-cold setting he describes and the mountains.

Ilike the whole variety of the issue this month. That Travis James guy Ican completely relate to with the smoking and all. I still gotta readissue 2 and see the rest of these new faces of horror. I like thevariety here. It's like a bag of Chex mix. Easier than reading 1100pages of the new Stephen King but I like that too when I get the time.

Harley Richards